Four fingers have no released the gem though the last still solidly holds it in place. Jaylan and Syl are the last to act. Obviously one needs to put their hand on the last remaining hand symbol and hold it until the gem is released… but then what?
Of course the archway is still open. You’ve entered the tower, you could always just turn back and head home…
Jaylan, or is it Sylrieth, eventually go over and cautiously put their hand against the last hand symbol and the gauntleted hand in the middle of the pedestal retracts the final finger and the rather large sapphire lays freely on the opened palm. Everyone is nervous and cautious at first. Syl, or is it Jaylan, look around the jewel and the palm and the rest of the hand and the pedestal and try to see if there is some kind of trap or something... But they find nothing.
Caution continues and first one and then another of your group wishes to investigate the area further before anyone chances removing the sapphire from the hand, but how? At first two members switch, one sliding their hand onto the symbol simultaneously with the other removing theirs. With breath held everyone watches the hand... But nothing happens. A new investigation is embarked upon and once more nothing new is found. Another switch... This one not so smooth. One removes their hand too soon, or perhaps the other just wasn't paying attention... But a hand is removed from the symbol and the hand on the pedestal simply does not react.
It is discovered that the hands can be moved now, the jewel is free and the hand remains open. No amount of investigation reveals any kind of trap or danger so eventually the large sapphire is removed from the hand.
First there is a light clatter and tinkling noise and six small bands that were beneath the stone clatter to the floor. Each band rolls on it's edge intent on it's destination... And indeed, one rolls to each of you, crashing into your boot and then falling on it's side... Waiting. ((If you pick up the ring at your foot, roll a D12... If you leave it there so be it.))
Next there is a *poof* from above you, an audible noise that doesn't actually occur. Looking up it is discovered that the slightly discolored bit of ceiling above the pedestal is simply gone. Darkness sits where stone once did, an entrance to the upper levels of The Tower. Even Nefire could climb upon the helping hand that the stone sculpture could now be and manage to scramble up into the hole in the ceiling... If she dared. The archway is also still open. Or is it? With a bit of a closer inspection it is discovered that there is a bit of a shimmer that can be noticed if one looks just right... As if the archway is open but yet there is something there. The invisible barrier that once kept you out?
If one experiments and sticks something through the archway it passes easily enough... Bringing it back in is a different story. Anything fully crossing the archway to the outside of the barrier is found impossible to bring back in again. In fact Krumar is in danger of having to leave his favorite (and only) lute behind until Raevyn discovered that putting the sapphire back on the palm results in the stone hand immediately clenching it again, the closing of the hole in the ceiling and the dropping of the barrier across the archway. Touching the hand symbols once more does indeed work again to free the sapphire.
So the options are clear - You can clamber up to the second level of The Tower or you can pass through the archway with the rings and the sapphire as your prize and call it a successful enough day's work. The choice is yours...
Actions Needed from Everyone:
Roll that D12 if you are picking up the ring. Advise if you are not.
Decide if you are climbing up higher into The Tower or if you are exiting back to the anxious crowds eager for your return. Majority rules here, you really can do either but I'm NOT running two different campaigns so figger it out! :D
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Nefire stares at the ring at her feet. She then notices Krumar pick it up and put it on, so she shrugs and does the same thing.
D12: 5
She then scrambles onto the hand to help boost her up to the second level, but before she gets past the hand, she looks to the rest of the group to make sure they are coming with her. It was one thing to do this together... quite another on her own. "You all coming?"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Syl, belatedly figuring out you have to touch the hands to get the hand to open, does hit part and helps release the gem.
What's this now? he wonders as the little ring rolls up against his sandal. Thinking it might be worth something, he picks it up. 3
"Onwards and upwards? Sure. Might as well get this over with." He prepares to climb up the pedestal, hand, and then join Nefire on the next floor.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Dabbert sees the ring hit the floor at his boots and takes a moment to toe it with his boot. He squints, watches as some of the others start picking up their rings...toes his again.
Hearing Dabbert reject his ring, Syl eggs him on. "C'mon, mate. You don't look like the shy type. If this tower plans ill for us - and I can only assume it does - the time for half-measures and weak knees was before you locked yer self in here with the rest of us. Might as well strap in and enjoy the ride. No getting off now."
If Dabbert still won't take it, Syl will reach down and pick it up. "Suit yer self. More souveeneers for old Syl."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Raevyn cocks her head in curiosity as the shiny gold ring comes to a stop at her feet. Through the peripherals of her vision she could already see the majority of the others picking each one up. Considering they didn’t seem to have any immediate repercussions, the Doctor figured it was safe enough to pick up at this time and investigate the implications of the decision later. Therefore, she does. Raevyn picks up ‘her’ ring, holds it up to what ever light there was closest to her for a quick look, before pocketing it in her robe at Nefire’s prompt.
Roll: 1
Looking up to Nefire, Raevyn nods. “Yes.” She states affirmatively for herself. Preparing to lift her robe to take a step up, the Doctor couldn’t help but notice Dabbert toeing his ring. Pausing briefly, she looks to him. “No? As in, ‘no’ to the ring? Or ‘no’ to joining us this way Mr. Dabbert?” She’d ask for clarification. The woman genuinely hoped that they would continue on as a team, however she respected each individual and therefore their personal choice.
Assuming/hoping there are no qualms with her next action (or if Dabbert eventually decides to pick it up himself, or if no one stops her), Raven would bend down to pick up the ring with the intention of it being for him. It rolled his way so the Doctor still believes it to ‘belong’ to him. She’d lift it, holding it up within her palm as if presenting it to him, welcoming him to take it, should he choose too. If he refuses the ring, she would place it in a separate pocket for ‘later, just in case’, unless he specifically requests that she leave it behind. Raevyn would respect Dabbert’s wishes.
"It uh...it's not the tower or morals or whatever I worry about." Dabbert says in reply to Syl's goading. He looks up from the ring and shrugs, then looks at the opening overhead. "It's the ring. I don't trust it. And to clarify for the doctor...no, I'm not picking up the ring."
He watches as Raevyn picks up his ring, and shrugs again.
"Everyone has the inalienable right to find their own way to hell." He says. He cries off with a wave of his hand as she offers it to him. "No thank you, lady. I'll uh...be just fine without it."
With that behind him, he looks up into the hole that Nefire had slipped into, reached up, and pulled himself in...
As the rings roll to the foot of each of you some are more eager to grab theirs up more than others.Krumar, for aesthetic reasons if nothing else, takes up his gold band with a jewel atop it and immediately puts it upon a finger.Nefire follows suit, picking up the ring at her foot and noticing it is a bit odd… It’s more like an earring or a nose ring.She gives it a “hmm,” but then decides to worry about it later and shoves it on a finger before scrambling up upon the stone hand and peeking up into the opening in the ceiling.Jaylan and Syl pick up their rings eagerly enough, stashing them in a small pouch or other secured spot to consider on more later, apparently.Raevynpauses a moment longer than some of the others, tilting her head at the shiny and considering it, but as no harm seems to come to the others she too picks up her ring and secures it.
Dabbert is the holdout.“Uh…no.” Dabbert says, apparently rejecting the trinket out of hand, that came off the hand when the jewel was removed from it’s palm.Syl and Raevyn are the first two to take note of this rejection.Syl at first, good natured manner perhaps, attempts to persuade Dabbert to take up his ring but then quickly sees opportunity for himself.Raevyn also questions Dabbert’s refusal but not seeing him budge she decides to secure the ring in case he later changes his mind.
Syl and Raevyn practically knock heads as they each bend down to pick up the unclaimed treasure.There is a moment when both have their fingers upon the ring and believe they have it in their hands.Raevyn holds her hand out towards Dabbert with her palm up to offer him his ring… But she notices her palm is empty even as the member of the High King’s army rejects her offer.Syl, on the other hand, is already pocketing the second ring away.
While possession of the rings is being worked out the intrepid Halfling is already doing her best to clamber up through the passage in the ceiling.On tiptoes of the highest point of the marble hand, Nefire is just able to edge herself high enough to get her fingertips over the ledge and pull herself up in a chin-up to see what there is to see.She is likely a bit disappointed.The second floor of The Tower is not illuminated other than by what light leaks in from the opening itself.With no heightened vision or light from a torch or other source, all she can make out is that it is indeed the second floor?It’s definitely an “inside” area not open to the elements and for the ten feet or so she can see through the darkness she can make out nothing but a stone floor.
Krumar, Jaylan and the other was all on or around the pedestal ready to give Nefire a boost up or a hand down, as she wishes.It will take an Identify spell to reveal the properties of the rings, or a short rest of contemplation regarding them.
Are we:
Climbing up onto the second floor to see more of what can be seen?
Staying on the first floor to take a short rest to learn about the rings?
Just who has the large sapphire that the marble hand was holding?
(And ok, did intend to more definitely have us on 2nd floor with this post but I want to be clear on the rings and also give next floor a reread so I don’t screw it up.Sunday or Monday depending on how quick we all are) :)
Dabbert eyeballs Raevyn's hand as it reaches out, then smiles when it's empty after Syl swipes it. He makes a 'what can you do' gesture with his hands, then reaches out to pat Raevyon on the shoulder.
"Thanks uh...anyway, doc." He says before pulling himself up to the second level, hoping Nefire has had time to get out of the way before he hauls himself through the opening. "Darking that Orcus's stool sample up here. Anyone got a light?"
Jaylan picks the blue shappire and puts on his backpack while searching for a torch.
“ I think we better keep this with us so no one can put it back and close that hole behind us…. Let me see… here” he says to Dalbert while handing him the torch.
Nefire pulls herself up onto the second floor and her eyes struggle to adjust to the dim light. The others below on the first floor are lining up to join her, but the halfling takes a moment and lights her hooded lantern to shed some illumination on her situation.
The darkness recedes, revealing a square stone room that is roughly forty by forty feet. Two exits, one to the east and one to the west, run parallel to each other and the empty crawlspace she climbed through. The air is not fresh, certainly, but is not as stale and dusty as one might expect. There is dust and dirt collected in the corners that suggest the custodial staff is on an extended vacation, but not so much that one leaves footprints. The only sounds to be heard at the moment are coming from down below as the rest of the party is starting to climb up.
As Nefire slowly moves her lantern to take in everything, she sees large silvery script on the northern wall, familiar yet illegible.
One by one, each of the members climbs up with or without the aid of others. Once the last of the party is on the second floor, the silver script flows and changes. It transmutes into the common language that they all speak.
“You have entered The Tower and earned your prize. Depart now while you can still speak of the deed. The secrets ahead are not for your eyes. Only if your life is forfeit should you follow your greed.”
The script flows and changes and transmutes back into its original script after a minute elapses. If one looks away and turns back to the northern wall, they will find the process repeats itself, as if some spell temporarily translates the spell for them each time they look at it.
The missing stones in the floor still allow for retreat, and perhaps that is looking a bit more inviting now. Perhaps the poor poetry has only hardened your resolve to continue. A quick peek through the opening on the western wall shows a quick turn north for about twenty feet before turning west again. Peaking east, the passage goes straight about thirty feet before turning north.
Nefire looks about at her fellow party members and just as you are about to discuss which way to go, you all hear it. A scratching. No, a skittering. A clacking maybe? Whatever it is, there is a lot of it, and it seems to be heading your way quickly from both passages. Retreat? Stand your ground? Charge one of the directions? The choice must be made quickly!
"Much appreciation, Jaylan." Dabbert says, cradling his halberd in one hand and taking the torch in the other. He illuminates the room, looking about at the dust and decay and years of decadence. Then he reads the words. "Uh...yeah. Sounds about right. I...huh. What's that?"
He drops the torch in a position that illuminates both passages before taking a step back. He holds his halberd at length, keeping both passages covered as best he can with both the weapon and line of sight while backing toward the rear of the room, but of course its breadth makes it impossible to do so perfectly.
"If we are standing our ground, we do it together. Here, with me. If we're leaving, decide now. We don't have time to dilly-dally. Behind me or beside me. Move."
Raevyn shrugs. It was what it was. She just thought she’d be courteous, however that doesn’t come to matter here. Eventually, once the moment of awkward discomfort finally moves on, the Doctor puts her mask back on and helps herself into the next area as one of the last ones. As if a complement to what just happened, she hears to the voice shout about following greed. While her actions weren’t intended as the sort, and considering they were all picked to be here, and not by choice, she’d ignore it. The only thing she was guilty of was curiosity, much like Jaylan comment.
“It appears we may finally encounter something to sink your axe into, Miss Nefire.” Raevyn waits for her eyes to adjust and her other heightened senses to dictate what course of action she should consider. She has yet to get a sense of the level of danger, and whether she should reserve her magic for a long haul with little to no rest between their challenges. The doctor wasn’t eager to react thoughtlessly.
(Essentially should there not be enough light to make out the whole room and should there be any sconces on the wall, she’d light them with Druidcraft. Should there be enough light, then she’d be looking to identify/confirm the threat to provide assistance (help action if possible) to Nefire.)
Krumar stands behind the rest of the group hoping to stay out of harm's way "Uhh didn't the wall say we could leave with our fancy rings and gem....We are....continuing on?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Four fingers have no released the gem though the last still solidly holds it in place. Jaylan and Syl are the last to act. Obviously one needs to put their hand on the last remaining hand symbol and hold it until the gem is released… but then what?
Of course the archway is still open. You’ve entered the tower, you could always just turn back and head home…
Jaylan, or is it Sylrieth, eventually go over and cautiously put their hand against the last hand symbol and the gauntleted hand in the middle of the pedestal retracts the final finger and the rather large sapphire lays freely on the opened palm. Everyone is nervous and cautious at first. Syl, or is it Jaylan, look around the jewel and the palm and the rest of the hand and the pedestal and try to see if there is some kind of trap or something... But they find nothing.
Caution continues and first one and then another of your group wishes to investigate the area further before anyone chances removing the sapphire from the hand, but how? At first two members switch, one sliding their hand onto the symbol simultaneously with the other removing theirs. With breath held everyone watches the hand... But nothing happens. A new investigation is embarked upon and once more nothing new is found. Another switch... This one not so smooth. One removes their hand too soon, or perhaps the other just wasn't paying attention... But a hand is removed from the symbol and the hand on the pedestal simply does not react.
It is discovered that the hands can be moved now, the jewel is free and the hand remains open. No amount of investigation reveals any kind of trap or danger so eventually the large sapphire is removed from the hand.
First there is a light clatter and tinkling noise and six small bands that were beneath the stone clatter to the floor. Each band rolls on it's edge intent on it's destination... And indeed, one rolls to each of you, crashing into your boot and then falling on it's side... Waiting. ((If you pick up the ring at your foot, roll a D12... If you leave it there so be it.))
Next there is a *poof* from above you, an audible noise that doesn't actually occur. Looking up it is discovered that the slightly discolored bit of ceiling above the pedestal is simply gone. Darkness sits where stone once did, an entrance to the upper levels of The Tower. Even Nefire could climb upon the helping hand that the stone sculpture could now be and manage to scramble up into the hole in the ceiling... If she dared. The archway is also still open. Or is it? With a bit of a closer inspection it is discovered that there is a bit of a shimmer that can be noticed if one looks just right... As if the archway is open but yet there is something there. The invisible barrier that once kept you out?
If one experiments and sticks something through the archway it passes easily enough... Bringing it back in is a different story. Anything fully crossing the archway to the outside of the barrier is found impossible to bring back in again. In fact Krumar is in danger of having to leave his favorite (and only) lute behind until Raevyn discovered that putting the sapphire back on the palm results in the stone hand immediately clenching it again, the closing of the hole in the ceiling and the dropping of the barrier across the archway. Touching the hand symbols once more does indeed work again to free the sapphire.
So the options are clear - You can clamber up to the second level of The Tower or you can pass through the archway with the rings and the sapphire as your prize and call it a successful enough day's work. The choice is yours...
Actions Needed from Everyone:
Krumar figures he could use something shiny to adorn and picks up the ring and puts it on
4
Nefire stares at the ring at her feet. She then notices Krumar pick it up and put it on, so she shrugs and does the same thing.
D12: 5
She then scrambles onto the hand to help boost her up to the second level, but before she gets past the hand, she looks to the rest of the group to make sure they are coming with her. It was one thing to do this together... quite another on her own. "You all coming?"
Syl, belatedly figuring out you have to touch the hands to get the hand to open, does hit part and helps release the gem.
What's this now? he wonders as the little ring rolls up against his sandal. Thinking it might be worth something, he picks it up. 3
"Onwards and upwards? Sure. Might as well get this over with." He prepares to climb up the pedestal, hand, and then join Nefire on the next floor.
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Dabbert sees the ring hit the floor at his boots and takes a moment to toe it with his boot. He squints, watches as some of the others start picking up their rings...toes his again.
"Uh...no." Dabbert says.
Dabbert does not pick up the ring.
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Jaylan picks up the ring. "What do we have here?" he asks in low voice as he does so.
"We should go and find wha'ts up there" he suggests to the others.
( 9 )
PbP Character: A few ;)
Hearing Dabbert reject his ring, Syl eggs him on. "C'mon, mate. You don't look like the shy type. If this tower plans ill for us - and I can only assume it does - the time for half-measures and weak knees was before you locked yer self in here with the rest of us. Might as well strap in and enjoy the ride. No getting off now."
If Dabbert still won't take it, Syl will reach down and pick it up. "Suit yer self. More souveeneers for old Syl."
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Krumar was about to go and pick up the ring but old Syl beat him to it "Finders Keepers as the old saying goes"
Raevyn cocks her head in curiosity as the shiny gold ring comes to a stop at her feet. Through the peripherals of her vision she could already see the majority of the others picking each one up. Considering they didn’t seem to have any immediate repercussions, the Doctor figured it was safe enough to pick up at this time and investigate the implications of the decision later. Therefore, she does. Raevyn picks up ‘her’ ring, holds it up to what ever light there was closest to her for a quick look, before pocketing it in her robe at Nefire’s prompt.
Roll: 1
Looking up to Nefire, Raevyn nods. “Yes.” She states affirmatively for herself. Preparing to lift her robe to take a step up, the Doctor couldn’t help but notice Dabbert toeing his ring. Pausing briefly, she looks to him. “No? As in, ‘no’ to the ring? Or ‘no’ to joining us this way Mr. Dabbert?” She’d ask for clarification. The woman genuinely hoped that they would continue on as a team, however she respected each individual and therefore their personal choice.
Assuming/hoping there are no qualms with her next action (or if Dabbert eventually decides to pick it up himself, or if no one stops her), Raven would bend down to pick up the ring with the intention of it being for him. It rolled his way so the Doctor still believes it to ‘belong’ to him. She’d lift it, holding it up within her palm as if presenting it to him, welcoming him to take it, should he choose too. If he refuses the ring, she would place it in a separate pocket for ‘later, just in case’, unless he specifically requests that she leave it behind. Raevyn would respect Dabbert’s wishes.
just an unstable unicorn.
"It uh...it's not the tower or morals or whatever I worry about." Dabbert says in reply to Syl's goading. He looks up from the ring and shrugs, then looks at the opening overhead. "It's the ring. I don't trust it. And to clarify for the doctor...no, I'm not picking up the ring."
He watches as Raevyn picks up his ring, and shrugs again.
"Everyone has the inalienable right to find their own way to hell." He says. He cries off with a wave of his hand as she offers it to him. "No thank you, lady. I'll uh...be just fine without it."
With that behind him, he looks up into the hole that Nefire had slipped into, reached up, and pulled himself in...
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Krumar will follow up up up
As the rings roll to the foot of each of you some are more eager to grab theirs up more than others. Krumar, for aesthetic reasons if nothing else, takes up his gold band with a jewel atop it and immediately puts it upon a finger. Nefire follows suit, picking up the ring at her foot and noticing it is a bit odd… It’s more like an earring or a nose ring. She gives it a “hmm,” but then decides to worry about it later and shoves it on a finger before scrambling up upon the stone hand and peeking up into the opening in the ceiling. Jaylan and Syl pick up their rings eagerly enough, stashing them in a small pouch or other secured spot to consider on more later, apparently. Raevyn pauses a moment longer than some of the others, tilting her head at the shiny and considering it, but as no harm seems to come to the others she too picks up her ring and secures it.
Dabbert is the holdout. “Uh…no.” Dabbert says, apparently rejecting the trinket out of hand, that came off the hand when the jewel was removed from it’s palm. Syl and Raevyn are the first two to take note of this rejection. Syl at first, good natured manner perhaps, attempts to persuade Dabbert to take up his ring but then quickly sees opportunity for himself. Raevyn also questions Dabbert’s refusal but not seeing him budge she decides to secure the ring in case he later changes his mind.
Syl and Raevyn practically knock heads as they each bend down to pick up the unclaimed treasure. There is a moment when both have their fingers upon the ring and believe they have it in their hands. Raevyn holds her hand out towards Dabbert with her palm up to offer him his ring… But she notices her palm is empty even as the member of the High King’s army rejects her offer. Syl, on the other hand, is already pocketing the second ring away.
While possession of the rings is being worked out the intrepid Halfling is already doing her best to clamber up through the passage in the ceiling. On tiptoes of the highest point of the marble hand, Nefire is just able to edge herself high enough to get her fingertips over the ledge and pull herself up in a chin-up to see what there is to see. She is likely a bit disappointed. The second floor of The Tower is not illuminated other than by what light leaks in from the opening itself. With no heightened vision or light from a torch or other source, all she can make out is that it is indeed the second floor? It’s definitely an “inside” area not open to the elements and for the ten feet or so she can see through the darkness she can make out nothing but a stone floor.
Krumar, Jaylan and the other was all on or around the pedestal ready to give Nefire a boost up or a hand down, as she wishes. It will take an Identify spell to reveal the properties of the rings, or a short rest of contemplation regarding them.
Are we:
Just who has the large sapphire that the marble hand was holding?
(And ok, did intend to more definitely have us on 2nd floor with this post but I want to be clear on the rings and also give next floor a reread so I don’t screw it up. Sunday or Monday depending on how quick we all are) :)
Dabbert eyeballs Raevyn's hand as it reaches out, then smiles when it's empty after Syl swipes it. He makes a 'what can you do' gesture with his hands, then reaches out to pat Raevyon on the shoulder.
"Thanks uh...anyway, doc." He says before pulling himself up to the second level, hoping Nefire has had time to get out of the way before he hauls himself through the opening. "Darking that Orcus's stool sample up here. Anyone got a light?"
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Jaylan picks the blue shappire and puts on his backpack while searching for a torch.
“ I think we better keep this with us so no one can put it back and close that hole behind us…. Let me see… here” he says to Dalbert while handing him the torch.
PbP Character: A few ;)
Nefire pulls herself up onto the second floor and her eyes struggle to adjust to the dim light. The others below on the first floor are lining up to join her, but the halfling takes a moment and lights her hooded lantern to shed some illumination on her situation.
The darkness recedes, revealing a square stone room that is roughly forty by forty feet. Two exits, one to the east and one to the west, run parallel to each other and the empty crawlspace she climbed through. The air is not fresh, certainly, but is not as stale and dusty as one might expect. There is dust and dirt collected in the corners that suggest the custodial staff is on an extended vacation, but not so much that one leaves footprints. The only sounds to be heard at the moment are coming from down below as the rest of the party is starting to climb up.
As Nefire slowly moves her lantern to take in everything, she sees large silvery script on the northern wall, familiar yet illegible.
One by one, each of the members climbs up with or without the aid of others. Once the last of the party is on the second floor, the silver script flows and changes. It transmutes into the common language that they all speak.
“You have entered The Tower and earned your prize. Depart now while you can still speak of the deed. The secrets ahead are not for your eyes. Only if your life is forfeit should you follow your greed.”
The script flows and changes and transmutes back into its original script after a minute elapses. If one looks away and turns back to the northern wall, they will find the process repeats itself, as if some spell temporarily translates the spell for them each time they look at it.
The missing stones in the floor still allow for retreat, and perhaps that is looking a bit more inviting now. Perhaps the poor poetry has only hardened your resolve to continue. A quick peek through the opening on the western wall shows a quick turn north for about twenty feet before turning west again. Peaking east, the passage goes straight about thirty feet before turning north.
Nefire looks about at her fellow party members and just as you are about to discuss which way to go, you all hear it. A scratching. No, a skittering. A clacking maybe? Whatever it is, there is a lot of it, and it seems to be heading your way quickly from both passages. Retreat? Stand your ground? Charge one of the directions? The choice must be made quickly!
Initiative:
"Much appreciation, Jaylan." Dabbert says, cradling his halberd in one hand and taking the torch in the other. He illuminates the room, looking about at the dust and decay and years of decadence. Then he reads the words. "Uh...yeah. Sounds about right. I...huh. What's that?"
He drops the torch in a position that illuminates both passages before taking a step back. He holds his halberd at length, keeping both passages covered as best he can with both the weapon and line of sight while backing toward the rear of the room, but of course its breadth makes it impossible to do so perfectly.
"If we are standing our ground, we do it together. Here, with me. If we're leaving, decide now. We don't have time to dilly-dally. Behind me or beside me. Move."
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Jaylan puts himself besides Dalbert, drawing his scimitar.
“Either we fight or we retreat we must give time to the others to descend if that’s what we are doing. “
He keeps quiet for a second the adds
“It says greed what happens if we are not greed but curious?” He asks to no one in particular but soon the approaching skittering makes him focus.
PbP Character: A few ;)
Raevyn shrugs. It was what it was. She just thought she’d be courteous, however that doesn’t come to matter here. Eventually, once the moment of awkward discomfort finally moves on, the Doctor puts her mask back on and helps herself into the next area as one of the last ones. As if a complement to what just happened, she hears to the voice shout about following greed. While her actions weren’t intended as the sort, and considering they were all picked to be here, and not by choice, she’d ignore it. The only thing she was guilty of was curiosity, much like Jaylan comment.
“It appears we may finally encounter something to sink your axe into, Miss Nefire.” Raevyn waits for her eyes to adjust and her other heightened senses to dictate what course of action she should consider. She has yet to get a sense of the level of danger, and whether she should reserve her magic for a long haul with little to no rest between their challenges. The doctor wasn’t eager to react thoughtlessly.
(Essentially should there not be enough light to make out the whole room and should there be any sconces on the wall, she’d light them with Druidcraft. Should there be enough light, then she’d be looking to identify/confirm the threat to provide assistance (help action if possible) to Nefire.)
just an unstable unicorn.
Krumar stands behind the rest of the group hoping to stay out of harm's way "Uhh didn't the wall say we could leave with our fancy rings and gem....We are....continuing on?"